NBA Daily Fantasy Picks & Playbook December 18

Published: Dec 18, 2023
We are one week away from the NBA Christmas Day featured slate as we have ourselves an 11-game Monday main slate here today featuring Luka Doncic, Nikola Jokic, Joel Embiid, Shai Gilgeous-Alexander, LeBron James and more. Along with the star power we also have some great matchups which includes the Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets, Los Angeles Clippers vs Indiana Pacers and New York Knicks vs Los Angeles Lakers.
NBA DFS Tools to dominate tonight's NBA DFS slate!
Make sure to check out today's NBA DFS projections and NBA DFS ownership projections before finalizing your lineups today. We also have the NBA Consistency Report to help identify players that have exceeded value based off their current price tag this season and of course our NBA DFS Lineup Generator!
Check out today's NBA DFS Playbook Preview Show
Notable NBA Injury Updates
Out
- Kyrie Irving
- Darius Garland
- Evan Mobley
- Jordan Clarkson
- Jalen Duren
- Dereck Lively II
- Marcus Smart
- Kyle Lowry
- Derrick Rose
- Myles Turner
Questionable
- Tyrese Haliburton
- Anthony Davis
- LeBron James
- De'Aaron Fox
- Anthony Edwards
- John Collins
- Gordon Hayward
- Bogdan Bogdanovic
- Clint Capela
- Keyonte George
- Mark Williams (Doubtful)
- De'Andre Hunter
- P.J. Washington
- Alex Caruso
Teams on Back-to-Backs
2nd Leg
1st Leg
Pace Up Spots
Pace definition: Pace is the total number of possessions a team uses in a game.
*key* Green is elite pace of play, Blue is decent pace of play, & Red is slow pace of play.
Green = Fast Paced team
Blue = Neutral Paced team
Red = Slow Paced team
- Houston Rockets 29th vs Cleveland Cavaliers 21st
- Los Angeles Clippers 22nd vs Indiana Pacers 1st
- Chicago Bulls 30th vs Philadelphia 76ers 12th
- Detroit Pistons 7th vs Atlanta Hawks 5th
- Minnesota Timberwolves 18th vs Miami Heat 25th
- Charlotte Hornets 16th vs Toronto Raptors 19th
- Memphis Grizzlies 17th vs Oklahoma City Thunder 6th
- Dallas Mavericks 10th vs Denver Nuggets 26th
- Brooklyn Nets 20th vs Utah Jazz 14th
- Washington Wizards 2nd vs Sacramento Kings 9th
- New York Knicks 28th vs Los Angeles Lakers 11th
Notable NBA Game Totals
- Houston Rockets vs Cleveland Cavaliers
- Los Angeles Clippers vs Indiana Pacers
- Chicago Bulls vs Philadelphia 76ers
- Detroit Pistons vs Atlanta Hawks
- Minnesota Timberwolves vs Miami Heat
- Charlotte Hornets vs Toronto Raptors
- Memphis Grizzlies vs Oklahoma City Thunder
- Dallas Mavericks vs Denver Nuggets
- Brooklyn Nets vs Utah Jazz
- Washington Wizards vs Sacramento Kings
- New York Knicks vs Los Angeles Lakers
Top Tier Core Plays
Joel Embiid, C Philadelphia 76ers
Embiid is listed as questionable but was at the team shootaround. As we talked about on the morning show, Embiid is putting up some insane numbers in just three quarters of play due to the 76ers blowout out their opponents. He's been as consistent as anyone in the league this year when it comes to ceiling games and though his pricing has caught up to Jokic and Doncic, I'm still going JoJo tonight against the Bulls.
Anthony Davis, PF/C Los Angeles Lakers
If not spending up for Joel Embiid tonight then Anthony Davis is the man to go to at the center position in the top tier. AD is giving us pretty consistent performances of 60+ fantasy points and tonight gets a matchup against a Knicks team that is still without Mitchell Robinson. Jericho Sims and Isaiah Hartenstein don't exactly matchup to AD here in this spot.
Trae Young, PG Atlanta Hawks
Ice Trae is back! Young is averaging 56 fantasy points over the last four games and what we love is the minutes as Trae seemingly plays 35 minutes whether the game is competitive or a blowout. The matchup against the Pistons is one of the best on the board here tonight.
Scottie Barnes, SF/PF Toronto Raptors
Still rocking with Barnes here in this matchup against the Hornets. We saw him break the slate the other day when these two teams faced off and tonight the Hornets are going to be without Mark Williams and possibly even Miles Bridges who was denied entry into Canada due to his legal issues. Barnes can fill the stat sheet and provide strong defensive numbers on a night-to-night basis but when the shot drops as well he can rival as the top scorer on the slate.
Donovan Mitchell, PG/SG Cleveland Cavaliers
No Darius Garland and no Evan Mobley for the Cavaliers for the next few weeks which means we have the Donovan Mitchell show in Cleveland. Yes, the matchup against the Rockets is far from exciting given the low game total but Mitchell should be taking 25+ shots a night here and that type of elite scoring at this price is always appealing in tournaments, especially at low rostership.
Mid-Tier Core Plays
Kawhi Leonard & Paul George SG/SF/PF Los Angeles Clippers
Any matchup against the Pacers is going to be appealing this season given their extreme pace of play and lack of defense. I guess the one reason to worry tonight would be the blowout factor as the Pacers are down some depth pieces and could now also be without both Tyrese Haliburton and Myles Turner here tonight. If Haliburton plays he is more than capable of keeping the Pacers competitive in this game which means ceiling games for George and Leonard are in the cards.
Collin Sexton, PG/SG Utah Jazz
Yes, the price continues to rise but as long as Jordan Clarkson is out and Sexton is starting we know the elite scoring upside is there. As we've mentioned on the live shows, Sexton averaged over 20 points per game as a starter for the Cavaliers back in the day and we are seeing that version of Sexton right now for the Jazz.
Bojan Bogdanovic, SF/PF Detroit Pistons
I Know the Pistons keep losing games but Bojan is doing his job, spacing the floor and knocking down shots with consistency. On days where he chips in with some rebounds he can easily pay off the price tag, especially in this matchup against the Hawks.
Tari Eason, SF/PF Houston Rockets
Yes the price continues to rise but Eason is still a fantasy point per minute monster. As long as he is going to get 25+ minutes a night in this Rockets rotation I am going to be plugging him into my tournament lineups because he is as likely to drop 50 FP as anyone else in this price tier.
James Wiseman, C Detroit Pistons
Wiseman has been getting consistent run in these past few blowout losses for Detroit but the Pistons are still without Jalen Duren and Isaiah Stewart in their front court so the rotation minutes are there for Wiseman and he hasn't disappointed. We could and likely will see Marvin Bagley start the game but Wiseman does get the early sub in this rotation.
Value Tier Core Plays
Jaden Ivey, PG Detroit Pistons
Killian Hayes has been ruled out. Ivey likely moves into the starting lineup here with Marcus Sasser getting backup point guard minutes. Good value here for both on a slate with little value.
Bilal Coulibaly, SG/SF Washington Wizards
He's been a favorite value play of ours this season and while the pricing is surging upwards we have to like the minutes and the matchup tonight against the Kings where Coulibaly only need 30 fantasy points to return 5x value.
Vince Williams JR., SF Memphis Grizzlies
He's projected to be the highest rostered player on the slate with the Grizzlies without Derrick Rose and Marcus Smart till here this evening. The Grizzlies could seemingly go with Desmond Bane as the starting point guard and Williams starting on the wing. I think BOTH Williams and David Roddy are in play here today.
Don't Miss Today's Livestream at 5pm ET
Roster Lock Updates
- Killian Hayes is OUT >> Jaden Ivey & Marcus Sasser get boost in value
- Myles Turner is OUT >> Isaiah Jackson likely now starts
- Miles Bridges is OUT >> PJ Washington is EXPECTED to play
The grid below will be updated prior to today's livestream and updated based on breaking news!
Player Pool
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Stacks
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